Spring mounting



sPRmG MOUNTING Y K Filed March 18.71922 2 sheets-sheet 2 4 J4 AWMF/vn i Patented Feb. 9, 192e. i

UNITED; STATES `l wurm cLaUsoN, or Bos'roN, nssacnusn'rrs. l' 'J' eremo nromv'rnm.

Application led arch 18 To all lwhom it may concern.'

Beit known that I, WILLIAM Chanson, a subject of the` King of Sweden, residing at Boston, in the county of Suiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and 'useful Improvements in Spring Mount-A ings, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to 'improvements in spring mountings. More especially it relates' to improved means for yieldlngly supporting a body `so that all its parts will beconstrained to move together uniformly toward 'or away from the bearing upon which the mounting means rest. The principles of` the invention have been particularly workedout,` and are herein illustrated, and described, 'as they may be' applied to the body of a lvehicle. Various devices have been designed for yieldingly mounting the body on the running gear .of a vehicle so that the vibrations of the latter, may be absorbed as far as possible by the mounting means. and the body permitted to' ride smoothly. So far as I am aware, nearly all such devices have involved the use of socalled laminated or .leaf springv members mounted singly 'in different locations between the running gear and thebody and even when, in some few cases, one spring has been used to support another in part, there'has been no attempt to make the effect of such spring'v mountings uniform. These members for thel most part act individually and constitute an aggregation of 'resilient units, each of which must be strong enough to support its apportioned part of the weightof the body andif necessary, almost' the/whole of any normal. load, there being no provision for the distribution of the latter. And in the case of self-propelled vehicles, and especially in that vtype embodyng the so-called Hotchkiss drive where thevehicle is pushed forward through the spring members, the latter must have very great strength to withstand the crear axle torque and to effect transmission of the driving force. As a result each resilient member is made lso stiff and stro as to ilex but little and consequently-absor only a small part of the vibrations. A body supportedv in this manner is subject to almost the full force of a blow received by the rulining gear, and this has led to the adoption of shock absorbers, snubbers, and the like. Even with the aid of the latter,A there is still 192s. serial ivo.' 544,798.

a great deal of side sway or rocking, and

Bussum the vibrations are at best only somewhat reduced. Furthermore the desirability of using solid riibber tireson all classes of vehicles has added 'to the problem of suit'-` ably supporting thevbody and loads, so that there is need for an improved means of sup-i port which will actually absorb the jars and blows given the running gear and thils prevent their transmission to 4the body, the

passengers, the load and continuously altering the normal level position ofthe latter.

To this end thef present invention is directed, and'it is among itsw objects to.pro

vide a spring suspension construction` that` will take up and absorb the vertical vmovements of the runnlng gear, eliminate the side sway and teetering, and thus cause the` vehicle lto ride smoothly andewithout appreciable jarring, thereby avoiding discomforts to the occupants and injury'to the vehicle. A further object is to replace the common separately-actinl leaf springs by apparatus whereby the loa upon any part of a vehicle will be equally sup rted by all thespring membersl acting joiiitly. A vfurther object is the provision of compensating whereby the floor or body ofthe vehicle is maintained substantially, level irrespective of whether the'load is largely at one side or the` other, or at either end. The invention Ifurther provides for independent abusorption of the 'individual vibrations of each wheel, which may be effected without being distributed throughout the whole', of the spring mounting, although when such vibrations 'are greater than the vindividual'absorptive means can take care of, they mayV ,be distributed among the other members of the resilient supporting means without causing jar to the body as a whole and without altering its socalled level. Another object is the provision of means whereby the 1mpellng force of a self-propelled vehicle may be transmitted from the driving wheels to `the body through rigid lmembers, thus elimleatinfg the lptilization of the mem `rs or suc purposes.

. These objects are attained by providing a system of pivotally mounted levers s'o ai'- means sifting I ranged with spring means that all coact to f vieldingly support the body. In the specificV embodiment ofthe inveption disclosed, there is provided a air of, levers on each side of the vehicle, eac fulcrumed at one end to the ,l chassis, and connected at the other end At0 the ruiming gear.Y Between their fulcrums, the; levers have opposed segmental faces, provided with gear teeth which intermeSh, so that upon one 'lever being swung about its axis, the other 'islikewise constrained to move. The'other .remote ends of these levers may extend beyond their connection with the running gear and be joined to the extremities of the chassis, but this is not necessary. The segmental ends of the. levers are proportioned so as to constitute bell crank arms, between which the spring means which provide the cushioning effect are interposed'. These means constantly rtend to spread' the bell. crank arms apart and thus force downward the remote ends of the le- -vers but such vtendency is limited by contact between segments 'at the ends of the gearteeth. The connections between the levers and the running gear comprise additional coiled spring members, by which the blows given the individual wheels'may be almost entirel absorbed without affecting the levers t eniselves. The force of these axle springs is lgreater-than the forceexerted by t e spring means acting on the bell crank armsv so that itis the latter which permits the body to move relatively to the running gear, while the former permit individualA movement of a single .wheehwhen it strikes a -stone or other obstruction. Thereason for the stronger springs flexing instead of the weaker springs, upon a vsudden movement of a wheel, is because the General inertia of the membersl through `hich the blow must be transmitted to the weaker springs hinders 'their response untihthe stronger springs, which are acted upon'directly, have absor ed the vibration. The levers on one side are connected with corresponding mem- X bers on the opposite side, so that in ei'ect the rear levers move as a unit and the front levers do likewise; .and because of the gear teeth connection between those on the same side' of the frame, all four move simultaneously" about their respective pivots. As a result, whenever the bodyl or chassis is Iforced downward at any point it tendsto cause the lever arm nearest to that point to swing .about its pivot on `the frame, but

' movement of that one `lever arm causes.

simultaneous movement of the others, so

that all other parts' of the chassis moveV the initial same amount, thus maintaining the body in successively parallel osition.

Themvention'is illustrated in the aecompanying drawings as it may be applied; to the chassis ofan automobile, but the prinpositions relative to its ciples might equally well be applied tothe Supportvof any body, which it is desirable to have yieldingly mounted in such manner that its horizontal level can be maintained as it moves toward or away from the base of its support. The drawings, therefore, are

merely illustrative of one possible application of the invention, and it is intended that the patent shall cover, bly suitable-ex ression in the appended claims, whatever eatures of patentable novelty'exist in. the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 is an elevation on a section `through the Tchassis on line 1--1 of Figure spring mountings when the chassis is loaded y Figure 4 iswa front view;v

Figure 5 is a rear view; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged view on line 6-.6 of Fig. 2'. l

Referring to the drawings, there is shown' 3 is a view similar 'to that of Figsecured to the middle of each'side member.

1'0 of a,chassis, a bracket having depending side plates 12 between which are 'mounted a pair of levers 14, 16, Ilwhose adjacent segmental'ends14, 16are provided with inter-meshing gear teeth and portions conpivotally.

stituting bell crank arms 14, 16". 'Be-l tween these crank .arms and housed partl within' them' are coile sprin s 18 whic exert pressure on the armstending to separate them and force the remote ends 14'", "and 16 of the levers downward about the fulcrum pins 20. The forward lever 14 is connected to the front axle 22'and the other .and is connected to the latter `through a link rmember 26. Considering first the arrangement at the front of the vehicle, the levers lfton .'each side are rigidly-connected `b means of. a cross arm E28-having adepen ing yoke adapted to be pivota ly mounted on the axle 22, sothat the arm and levers and the axle may swing or rock relative] .to /one another. This axle is provided wit the conventional Aconnections to the wheels,-

whereby they may be turned to etherl about separate `p'ivots.\at'the axle en s for steer- Y,

l'yieldingly opposes .oscillation vof the`axle' and the cross arm, thereby .serving to cushion thesudden u ward movement of either a'xle end; caused) wheels strikin into a depression-in the roadway. en-

ever-the two front wheels move upward or downward together, however,'the axle' cross by one of the front an vobstruction orv4 dragging arm, and levers all swingtogether abot'the "fulcrum pins 2.() on `the supporting bracket,v

but the clockwise swinging of the levers-14,` i

. acts through the gear teeth to cause counterclockwiselswinging of the rear levers 16,

100 leve1`f16` extends toward the rear axle 24,

' y By proper pro direct from the rear wheel to the chassis, through'rigid unyielding` members, namely, the rear Wheel 48, the rear axle 24, the lever link -26, the pin connectiont to the lever, -thence through the lever 16v and its pivotal connect-iony 20 to the supporting plates 12 and through the plate fastenings to the chassis 10. Such lineof drive is illustrated by the dottedline in both Figs. 1 and 3, and it is seen lthat the disadvantages' of driving through spring members are eliminated. I

The results achieved by the invention are ease of riding, the maintenance of the bod'y1 level regardless of where the load is placed or the road conditions encountered, and' the transmission offthe driving power from the wheels through rigid members to the chassis. No shockabsorbers or the like are necessary as the teetering is entirely done away with by the enforced uniform movement of the body toward or away from the running gear. rtioning of the crank armsprmgs, any esred degree -of flexibility can be obtained, so that the cushioning effect of neumatic tires can be compensated end to the running gear and at the other end` fulcrumed tothe chassis, whereby the relative movement of the chassis and running gear is/eiected; said `fulcrumed ends having intermeshing segments" adapted to cause simultaneous movement of the levers, where-` by the chassismoves towardand away from the running gear; and spring means. coacting with the levers to oppose movement of the chassis and running gear toward each other,.between each lever and the iaxles whereby movement of the, axle ends relative to the chassis is' permitted without movement off'the levers.

2. Mountingmeans for the chassis of a vehicle com rising a pair oflevers connecting each si e member of the chassis to each axle, whereby the lrelative'movementv of the chassisv and axles iseiected; said levers being fulcrumed to thechassiszwithltheir admeshing' en y to move together,` thereby causing both side j jacent ends intermeshing whereby movement of one lever of a'f-pair causes movement of the other lever; :there beingcross arms connecting theremote ends fJ each pair of levers whereby in conjunction with said interall the levers arecons'trained members to move simultaneously; and spring means acting between the levers of. each of said pair to oppose movement of the chassis and axles toward each other.

' 3. Mounting means for theechassis of a vehicle comprlsing a pair of levers connect- `ing each side member of vthe chassis to thc axlesf whereby relativel movement of the chassis and axles is effected; the forward extending levers on` cach side being connected together vand `having a pivotal connection with the axles; theA rearward extending.le

vers 0n-each side being connected together and having separate connections with the rear axle, said separate connections comprising a link pivoted to a lever and having a bearing for the axle; said pair of levers o n f each side being each fulcrumed to thefchassls with their adacent ends intermeshing; and spring means interposed between said adjacent ends opposing their approach toeach other caused by the movement of the axles toward( the chassis. said springs providing the "cushioning effect for the mounting means.

gear and chassis of'a vehicle adapted to ab- Sorb vibrations and 'to transmit driving force from the running gearl to the chassis; said meanscomprismg a palr of levers plvotally the 4chassis and the o her-pivotally connected to Athe axle and both capable of oscillatory movement to provide a cushifnin for vibrations; -the said levers coactin to transmit the driving force from the axFe to the chassis. i Y. 5

5. Mounting mea-ns for the chassis of a vehicle, comprising levers connected Vat one end `to the running gear and at the other 9o 4. Mounting means between the running v connected, one bein pivotally mountedgon effect i end fulcnumed to the chassis, whereby 'relative movement of the chassis and running gear is effected; said fulcrumed ends having intermeshing Izportions adapted to cause simultaneous swinging of the levers, and hav` ing portions adapted inonengagement to I limit said swinging w erebylfthe relative movement of. the chassis and' running gear is limited; and sprin means coacting with the levers-'for yiel ingly opposing their swingin'guppn movement of t e chassis and running gear toward each other.

6. Mounting lmeans for the chassis of a 'vehicle comprising a pair of levers rigidly connected together` and yieldingly supporting the. chassis upon the forward axle of the running gear; a. secondpair?of-fintelcoml nected levers yieldingly `su portingfthe j vchassis u on lthe rear axleo the running gear; sai pairs'of levers having connections with one anotlieradapted upon the yielding of one pair, to cause simultaneously yielding o'f the other pair whereby thechassis moves uniformly vtoward the running ar.

7. Mounting means for the c ssis-of al vehicleA comprising an element pivoted on the chassis and extending over the rear axle of the vehicle; a second element 4pivotally means interposed between the said axle ends of the elements, and adapted to permit movement of the axle and the second sald element toward the chassis fsixthday of March, 1922.

without movement of the first said element. 8..Mounting means for the chassis ofa vehiclecomprising a system olevers each ivotally connected to theJ chassis midway of Y I its ends and each connected by linka to an end of the chassis; all said levers ing' `interconnected and adapted to coact to manll;

tain the chassis parallel to the ground irrespective of where a load is placed on the vehicle. J

Signed at;i Boston, rMassachusetts, this cL'AUsoN. 

